Friday, April 29, 2011

Gems and Donuts

I just spent a week in the throes of perpetual activity, thrust into my sedate and somewhat peaceful domain, by my ever so endearing daughter, her ever so cool husband, and their ever so endearing children. They are not the assorted donuts I’ve titled in this analect, but rather my assorted gems, and something truly to be treasured.

I’m not going to promote the commonly ridiculous notion that they, the grandchildren, are my responsibility to spoil. They’re much too precious. They are much too precious. They are very much too precious! All of them, all ten of them, unique in personality, disposition, temperament, and beauty are worthy and deserving of our nurturing, care and shelter.

I personally have done nothing to deserve this unmerited blessing from God.My life, until recent years, has left nothing but a trail of crumbs from the insatiable sampling of every donut I could get my hands on. On the other hand, my grandchildren’s diet has been carefully and prayerfully provided by their parents. The first step my son-in-law took was in the selection of his life-long mate. They both agreed that their special donut should not be served until after dinner and never to be shared with anyone else. They rightly knew that the consumption or sampling of other donuts would create an insatiable appetite that would lead to a life of severe indigestion and complications. It is prudent at this juncture to point out, somewhat embarrassingly, that my understanding of this is, sadly enough, skewed. You see, of course, that I will never know or completely understand this because I didn’t wait to share this donut with the one God intended me to share it with. Once shared of course, you are on the other side of what could have been with no way back. This leads to an endless pursuit for many, having less and less to share until it is all gone.

The second step my son-in-law took was the shelter he would provide for his gems. Romans 16:19 “ but yet I would have you wise unto that which is good, and simple concerning evil.” Of course, if you’re an avid donut eater, this is impossible. It certainly means an end to that vile, beastly corruptor and perverse intruder into our homes. You will never, ever, provide shelter for your God-given gems with a donut factory in your living room. This too is a mystery for many already across the divide. Thanks to my dear sweet wife, we have lived without one for sixteen years, and yes the sensitivity returns, but sadly, this side of heaven we will never know what it would have been like on the other side. Oh to be “simple concerning evil.” This means it is imperative to keep your gems precious. The Public Sewer System will destroy, corrupt and sever your gems from ever pursuing the precious diet God intended for them. God didn’t entrust your gems to anyone else. This includes the church, especially today. I can’t find any evidence for God delegating that responsibility to anyone else but Dad. God forgive me for what I did to my own.

The nurturing of our entrusted little gems is surely a strange thing in these days of gluttony. After all we deserve our time alone. I saw little of this with the keepers of our little grand-gems. They seem to have laid down their lives, and in a strange way, have been taken up into a far better realm, or what I perceive as a true reality. The reality offered by the world is the foreigner, and as seen in the light of obedience, reveals itself as it truly is, vile and filthy, spoiled forever. Obviously, I as a Christian, and by the grace of God, will never view this trust in a dualistic way, giving evil the same footing as goodness, but as something of infinite value in the eyes of God, to be preserved and nurtured, or by default by our negligence, turned over to the one who destroys and very efficiently blinds. Our daughter has very wisely, much to the dismay of other gem keepers because of the discomfort it seems to breed inside of them, chosen to be a mother. Daycare doesn’t nurture like a mother. She has laid down her life and taken up, once again, something more precious. Once done, I can hardly picture her viewing it as a sacrifice. This is something else that is incomprehensible to someone that has eaten the donut.

I don’t imply perfection on their part or a lifting up. It’s just a choice. It’s a choice that puts you at enmity with the world. It’s a choice that will leave our son-in-law’s family without the regret that my wife and I live with. It’s an unpopular choice that people will attack and yet some will marvel at. It’s a choice that will change the world more than anything else can. I can assure you that at God’s banquet, the donuts served up by this world will not even be on the menu, or even be a memory, and surely not desired, for what God serves will forever satisfy and fill with goodness everlasting for those who chose to treasure their gems.

1 John 2:15Love not the world, neither the things [donuts] that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.

1 comment:

This is a great article. You are indeed blessed. By the way, have you ever seen Lights, Camera, Blasphemy bu reel to real ministries? I've bought this several times over and lent it out. I never saw TV the same again after watching this.

About Me

I'm the dreaded fundamentalist you keep hearing about from the media. I believe the Bible [textus receptus]. I'm not a flavor [???? Christian], just Christian and amazed by the church's concessions hoping to appease an anti-Christian [rather a fallen societal antichrist deluded socialist agenda] sentiment fueled by the constant barrage of misrepresentations by a biased [lying] constituancy.